Amazon pumps Rs 2,600 crore in India marketplace biz

New Delhi, May 8 (PTI) US e-tail giant Amazon has infused fresh capital to the tune of Rs 2,600 crore into its India unit, Amazon Seller Services, to strengthen the war-chest of the company against domestic rival Flipkart.

The development amid buzz that rival Flipkart is close to sealing a mega deal worth over USD 12 billion with US based retail giant Walmart.

According to filings to Corporate Affairs Ministry, Amazon Corporate Holdings and Amazon.com.incs has made the Rs 2,600 crore investment in the Indian marketplace unit.

The board of directors of Amazon Seller Services passed the resolution at their meeting on April 26, 2018, it added.

In January this year, Amazon Seller Services had received a fund infusion of Rs 1,950 crore from the parent company.

When contacted, Amazon India spokesperson said: "As India?s fastest growing e-commerce player with a long-term commitment to make e-commerce a habit for Indian customers, we continue to invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire ecosystem".

"We are delighted and humbled by the trust from our customers, to lead in India on things that matter to our customers in five years of our business, while continuing to launch innovative India-first initiatives as well as completely new offerings like Echo, Prime, Prime Video and Prime Music," the spokesperson added.

The fresh funds will provide more arsenal to Amazon.in, which has been aggressively investing in expanding infrastructure and adding solutions to enhance consumer and seller experience.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has committed investments to the tune of USD 5 billion for the Indian market.

During a recent investor call, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky had said the company would continue to invest in India as it sees ?great progress? with both sellers and customers here, even though as the US e-tailing giant had registered a loss of USD 622 million from international operations in the first quarter of 2018.

The American company has also been pumping funds into its other entities in India, including Amazon Pay and wholesale business. These investments have been directed towards building warehouses, strengthening logistics and increasing product assortment.

Amazon is also investing significant money in marketing and promotions as the company looks to bring more consumers to its online shopping platform. PTI SR SR BAL BAL